tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post435995893893246571..comments2024-03-17T05:03:46.056-07:00Comments on xkcd sucks: Comic 711: Tortured LogicCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-32553821119114472822010-08-07T01:16:03.116-07:002010-08-07T01:16:03.116-07:00i think randall was thinking one step further than...i think randall was thinking one step further than carl was, but randall still wasn't taking everything into account. all in all it's very stupid, but i just want to find the intent and where it goes wrong. <br /><br />so the comic is only meant to refer to the situation in there DEFINITELY IS an earthquake. and, probably, the guy in the chair has been told to lie. i think the idea is that depending on how severe his lie is, (how "bad" his lie is?) as if the higher on the richter scale the earthquake would be, the "more" he would be lying about whether or not there's an earthquake, even though "no there is not an earthquake happening" should be definitively true or not true, instead of having degrees.<br /><br />but of course randall doesn't take into account that in a staged situation like that, the participant probably wouldn't feel nervous about lying. the whole idea of a lie detector test isn't that it knows objectively whether something is true or not true (as carl pointed out), it takes into account how nervous it makes the person to say it, along with other factors. so in that respect, the lie detector would record nothing interesting.<br /><br />however, we also have to assume that randall is referring to the use of this as a seismograph when the earthquake is definitely happening, else why would you need it "in a pinch" ? so the lie detector, which is otherwise very sensitive, is freaking out because the ground is shaking. duh. it doesn't even matter whether or not his lie is "more" of a lie, or if he's more nervous telling it - the ground is shaking erratically, and nothing recorded is going to be useful at all.<br /><br />maybe by some stretch randall was suggesting that you could factor out what the lie detector would record about the lie and be left with the seismograph reading, but it's too random. basically, the reading for the lie detector is just going to be fucked up. you can't tell how intense the earthquake was from how fucked up the reading is.<br /><br />so the guy whose lies are being detected are totally irrelevant. if anything, you would just use the lie detector and have it not be testing anyone, then see how the earthquake affects it from a flat line. it absolutely doesn't matter whether he's lying or not. <br /><br />so, yes, overall this comic is incredibly stupid, basically tying together two things that on first glance seem somewhat similar but are totally unrelated and incongruous: seismographs are instruments of measuring general intensity, while the lie detector printout is going to be much more detailed and subtle. it's a really hastily constructed joke, and it should have been scrapped before it ever got this forced. <br /><br />wow, that was too many words, and this is really late for the comic. but maybe you enjoyed following my train of thought. at least this is anonymous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-10471913893453778602010-03-15T15:01:48.027-07:002010-03-15T15:01:48.027-07:00I was still more of a fan of XKCD than a critic un...I was still more of a fan of XKCD than a critic until this cartoon.<br /><br />It sucks. Painfully unfunny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-4524627509530228112010-03-15T14:55:16.206-07:002010-03-15T14:55:16.206-07:00Lots of paranormal shows ask people on polygraphs ...Lots of paranormal shows ask people on polygraphs if they saw a ghost.Nulonohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00696072610155482618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-41195593372279411642010-03-11T16:19:55.117-08:002010-03-11T16:19:55.117-08:00"(this comic also relies on the childlike not..."(this comic also relies on the childlike notion that polygraphs actually work as a way to establish if someone is lying or not, but let's not even take up that question, we have enough to deal with as is)."<br /><br />If you think that only children hold this notion of how lie detectors work, well that's Bullshit! (That is to say: note the couple highlighted on Penn and Teller's Bullshit!)Artnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-69100662337803341742010-03-11T13:41:00.441-08:002010-03-11T13:41:00.441-08:00^ Yes, this. They're not measuring whether the...^ Yes, this. They're not measuring whether there is an earthquake or not, but how severe it is, based on how severe the seated man is lying when he says "No". This requires assuming that the science actually works like this, but generous scientific assumptions aren't exactly unreasonable for comics (unless, arguably, the comic purports to be about math). But even so, it's still not a very good comic.<br /><br />And to say that the point of the comic is to be so implausibly absurd is dumb and, rather than saving the comic, makes it appear even worse. I'd rather have a bad joke than one that's just meaningless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-63483959860260653702010-03-11T12:09:35.218-08:002010-03-11T12:09:35.218-08:00My take on it: Both parties are obviously aware o...My take on it: Both parties are obviously aware of the existance of an earthquake. He purposely and repeatedly answers the question inaccurately, knowing that the lie detector will register his lies. The bigger the earthquake is at the moment, the more a lie detector will assumably register his lie to be (at least in comedy based fictional versions of lie detectors), which will leave peaks and valleys based on how bad the earthquake was throughout it's duration, much like a seismograph would.<br /><br />I guess what I'm trying to say is...you have a small penis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-51006883481460998552010-03-11T11:57:25.724-08:002010-03-11T11:57:25.724-08:00Yet you are criticising this blog.
I wonder what ...Yet you are criticising this blog.<br /><br />I wonder what that makes you.R.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-80527798874555567342010-03-11T11:53:42.614-08:002010-03-11T11:53:42.614-08:00Those who can't criticize(or think critically ...Those who can't criticize(or think critically at all) post idiotic unoriginal comments on crtic blogs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-87366983837326177742010-03-11T10:50:50.687-08:002010-03-11T10:50:50.687-08:00A polygraph chair has a sensor in the seat to guag...A polygraph chair has a sensor in the seat to guage how much you move, so there is more merit to the comic.<br /><br />This site resolutely reaffirms the maxim, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. And those who can't teach, criticize."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-1975946085451781522010-03-11T00:21:38.594-08:002010-03-11T00:21:38.594-08:00Mitch Hedberg did it better and first:
'I don...Mitch Hedberg did it better and first:<br /><br />'I don't get the regular AIDS test anymore. I get the roundabout AIDS test. I ask my friend Brian, "Do you know anybody who has AIDS?". He says, "No". I say, "Cool, because you know me."'Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04998382625955975920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-35373634699409350422010-03-10T19:14:25.572-08:002010-03-10T19:14:25.572-08:00Sex Dice has it. The picture is an absurd decoy; t...Sex Dice has it. The picture is an absurd decoy; the lie detector works as a seismograph because it can respond to small vibrations. The mouseover text works because a seismograph would detect the nervous tic. The lie detector as seismograph is not a good joke, though, so the absurd decoy is used to make people who get the (lame) joke chuckle about a silly misinterpretation. Even then it's still not particularly good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-4910949112928278512010-03-10T18:06:06.898-08:002010-03-10T18:06:06.898-08:00If there is an earthquake, it will probably scare ...If there is an earthquake, it will probably scare you. If you are scared, your heart rate increases and so does your breathing. These are the things a lie detector/polygraph detects. The higher the heart rate, the bigger the lines. The stronger the earthquake, the more scared you will probably be. Therefor, the polygraph is effectively a seismograph, as it detects the existence of one and measures the strength of one, albiet on an arbitrary scale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-54977521842302483752010-03-10T14:40:55.559-08:002010-03-10T14:40:55.559-08:00I thought, originally, that he was using the seism...I thought, originally, that he was using the seismograph as a lie detector, and that therefore he was ALSO seeing that the guy was lying when asked if there was an earthquake, which assumes the guy compulsively lies for no reason or something. The other way is it's just a lie detector, and it's being used as a seismograph, but that makes even less sense. All in all, not really logical or funny.Nemohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12087251739922302645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-31289403774494144532010-03-10T13:28:05.605-08:002010-03-10T13:28:05.605-08:00My (probably incorrect) understanding was that if ...My (probably incorrect) understanding was that if there was an earthquake, the needle on the "lie detector" would make the lines just like on a seismograph? But then... why is the person asking him if there is an earthquake? Wouldn't the standing man, as pointed out above, also feel the earthquake if the sitting man can? Randall prides himself on his logical know-how as evidence in 703, aka the "Tautology Club" one, and then he puts shit like this out. What on Earth was he thinking? If this is the best he thought up of, what were the rejects like? Does he even read his comics, or are they typed out by a thousand monkeys on a thousand typewriters? <br /><br />The mind boggles.sex dicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13457140235061890532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-55336228531918176962010-03-10T12:58:37.608-08:002010-03-10T12:58:37.608-08:00For the guy in the chair to know an earthquake is ...For the guy in the chair to know an earthquake is happening, the guy asking the question would also have to know because it would be OBVIOUS. I think maybe that's where the joke is? Or maybe something to do with their not being a seismograph so it's not scientific but the polygraph (not really) is? I don't know.<br /><br />But these "too soon" comments crack me up. Humor (supposedly what Randy here does) doesn't respect the timing of things. Either it's funny, or it isn't, it's not a matter of how long after an event happens.Corenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15212091179352013947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-92084732253071236932010-03-10T12:58:16.605-08:002010-03-10T12:58:16.605-08:00Ugh, second time this week I have to say this-
the...Ugh, second time this week I have to say this-<br />the dog pillow buffered my nipples.<br />From now on that means absurdity doesn't automatically generate humour, even doing absurdist humour you need an actual punchline besides "haha, that doesn't make sense".<br />Not that I thought this was the joke with the God-R2D2 thing, but someone else did, and thought it was good, so fuck that guy.ScottMcTonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-60605960961464640882010-03-10T09:15:39.454-08:002010-03-10T09:15:39.454-08:00I would say you're thinking too much about thi...I would say you're thinking too much about this, but then again Randall is the kind of guy who think way too much about things and to expect his fans to accept a mindless dumb joke like this would be kind of hypocritical.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-63755114543352645082010-03-10T06:01:57.107-08:002010-03-10T06:01:57.107-08:00I've been in an earthquake, the one that struc...I've been in an earthquake, the one that struck Chile a couple of weeks ago. Here's a tip for Randall:<br /><br />How do you know there's an earthquake going on?<br /><br />EVERYTHING SHAKES, ASSHOLE!<br /><br />There's nothing funny about earthquakes. You have difficulties staying on your feet, everything around you is rumbling and rattling and you're wondering whether your house is going to start collapsing and you just want it all to stop.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-59129643190377708502010-03-10T04:51:53.953-08:002010-03-10T04:51:53.953-08:00It's never "too soon" for any joke.
...It's never "too soon" for any joke.<br /><br />That being said, this comic has no joke.railgunnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-5629369179549040102010-03-10T04:32:47.372-08:002010-03-10T04:32:47.372-08:00Urgh, I usually take XKCDsucks with a pinch of sal...Urgh, I usually take XKCDsucks with a pinch of salt but I have to agree with this one. The whole 'it's MEANT to be stupid" is ridiculous. The only way you can find this funny is if your starting assumption is 'XKCD is funny, let's find out why' which is cyclic logic at it's worst...Paul Wishartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-20151418761757474932010-03-10T03:37:57.342-08:002010-03-10T03:37:57.342-08:00I think the reason I can't just accept this as...I think the reason I can't just accept this as absurd humor and laugh and move on is because the whole point of XKCD is allegedly to overthink things in a nerdy fashion!<br /><br />Yes, trying to detect an earthquake in this way clearly won't work, but my mind can't help going down dead ends wondering about all the little silly details and whether Randall was actually trying to go somewhere with this.Ambivaliciousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-1726101025258402752010-03-10T01:36:48.645-08:002010-03-10T01:36:48.645-08:00I dont get how the situation being absurd generatu...I dont get how the situation being absurd generatues humour in itself-<br /><br />Well placed absurdity could, but this is confusing, (the art is horrible) and we can't really tell what the fuck is actually going on.<br /><br />Concequently, it's just retarded.<br /><br />But, since so many people insist otherwise, I'm going to make a webcomic where the entire premise is"retarded inane bullshit" and make millions.<br /><br />The first strip will be a man shitting on a triangular rainbow- PROTIP, in a pinch, meterological phenomena can act like toilet paper"Rainbowshitterhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Rainbow-diagram-ROYGBIV.svg/800px-Rainbow-diagram-ROYGBIV.svg.pngnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-80981566804220573542010-03-10T01:30:20.408-08:002010-03-10T01:30:20.408-08:00Or it is a comment on what Hollywood would do it i...Or it is a comment on what Hollywood would do it in a film if no seismograph is available.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-1566075212072833292010-03-10T01:29:08.932-08:002010-03-10T01:29:08.932-08:00My take on the comic was that if you put someone i...My take on the comic was that if you put someone in the polygraph and tell them to lie, during an earth quake, and asked him if there were an earthquake or not, the readouts on the polygraph would somehow correlate between the enormity of the lie and the magnitude of the quake. <br /><br />But yeah, that was a rather bad comic...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-9720601709874527132010-03-09T23:42:02.892-08:002010-03-09T23:42:02.892-08:00THAT WAS A TRAGEDY
FUCKING RANDALL MUNROE HOW DARE...THAT WAS A TRAGEDY<br />FUCKING RANDALL MUNROE HOW DARE YOU<br />HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!! YOU DON'T KNOW! YOU DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />R.I.P. Baby EthanR.noreply@blogger.com